With the advent of the modern industrialized society, there is a constant need for energy to power the growing energy consumption needs of the society. At present, fossil fuels are the main source of this energy but factors such as fossil fuel deposit scarcity, resultant pollution from burning fossil fuels, and geopolitical factors that affect the price and availability of fossil fuels have resulted in a need for alternative sources of energy. An example of a popular form of alternative energy source is solar energy.
In order to utilize solar energy, solar energy systems have been created and designed to harness received solar radiation into thermal or electrical energy through various means. These solar energy systems typically include a solar energy collector to collect the solar radiation and other components that convert the collected solar radiation into either electrical or thermal energy.
These solar energy systems need to be designed and installed in locations and orientations with the highest solar radiation exposure in order to maximize the amount of solar radiation that may be collected by the solar energy systems. As a result, there is a need to measure the solar radiation access or solar access at a given location and orientation. Solar access is dependent on the amount of shade caused by obstructions surrounding the desired site of the solar energy system. These obstructions may be buildings, trees, vegetation, structures, or any other object that is in view from the desired site of the solar energy system. These obstructions may block the solar radiation from the sun and therefore are relevant to the measurement of shade and solar access.
Often a 3D CAD model (three dimensional computer aided design model) is used in the design process for a new solar energy system. This 3D CAD model may include a model of the desired installation site, such as a building or roof as well as models of the obstructions surrounding the site.
There exist a number of known systems for measuring solar access, including the commercial product known as the “SunEye” from Solmetric Corporation (www.solmetric.com). However, these systems are physical measurement devices meant to be placed in a real-world environment. Sometimes, it is desirable to sell and/or design a solar energy system without physically going to the desired installation site. In this case, it would be desirable to be able to measure the solar access without physically going to the site.
Therefore, there is a need for a new solar access measurement system that is capable of determining the shade and solar access at a given location without having the limitations associated with the existing known solar access measurement systems.